Night Hunter
by JasperIsAManlyMan
Summary: The Crown Prince of Bethmoora has no idea what's in store for him. An answer to LA Knight's Bat Challenge.


**Author's Note****: This is an answer to the Bat Challenge posted in chapter 29 of LA Knight's amazing story "Once Upon a Time". If you don't understand what's going on… well, maybe you should go read it! In fact, you should definitely go read it. Disclaimer: Bat is not mine, Nuada is not mine, and Dylan is not mine! **

As silently as the snow falling outside, I stole through the dark cottage. With languid strides, I cautiously approached my sleeping prey. The two-legger was certainly much bigger than me, but I was not afraid; only a fool judged his opponent by his size. This particular two-legger was no fool, but neither was I. Closer I crept until I had reached the couch where my target was sleeping. One light bound put me on the back of the couch.

My claws scraped slightly against the fabric of the sofa, and the sound made the two-legger twitch in his sleep. My slit-pupil eyes focused on him with single-minded intensity, and I froze, not even breathing, until the male relaxed into deep sleep again. Then I stalked down the ridge of the couch until I'd gained the optimal position for a swift strike.

I crouched, my muscles coiling. There, so stark-white against the darkness of the night. So very tempting. The perfect prey. The male-human-shaped-but-_not_-human slumbered on – so peaceful in his ignorance of what was to come. I couldn't resist. My shoulders rolled in preparation for the lunge. It was time.

Heart racing, dagger-like claws extended, I flung myself forward and attacked his unprotected toes.

Not even half a second after I'd fixed my claws in his feet, the white male woke with a roar and exploded into movement. Yowling and jumping in surprise, I dove off the couch and tried to run. Something snatched me out of the air by my middle and swung me around. Automatically, I hissed and swiped at the hand with my claws, but the male was already shifting me so that I was held suspended by the scruff of my neck, far away from his body. No part of him was close enough to scratch or bite – but now that I thought about it, he wasn't hurting me; his grasp was just a little uncomfortable and a lot embarrassing.

His incredulous copper eyes locked with my sullen amber ones. "_Bat_," he snarled. A string of other words followed, and though I didn't understand them, I knew that they were not compliments.

_Put me down!_ I howled, wriggling to get free. _Where's your sense of humor? It was just a game!_

"Nuada?" My female two-legger had been woken by the male's vicious invectives. She appeared in the doorway, her eyes alarmed. "What's wrong?" Then she noticed me, hanging despondently from the white male's hand, and became puzzled. "_Bat?_"

The not-human male was still seething. "You," he accused coldly, "neglected to mention that your little beast has an unhealthy fascination with bare feet."

_I told you, it was just a game!_ I growled. _Are you _always_ this sensitive?_

Finally, my human realized what had happened. "Oh," she said sheepishly, wincing a little. "Did he jump on your feet?"

"How very astute of you," the male snapped.

Why was she just letting me hang here? I wondered. It was so humiliating! _Tell him to let me go!_ I ordered, yowling.

My human held her hands out to the male. "I'm so sorry. I'll keep him in my room from now on," she promised.

Fuming, the male passed me to the safety of my human's arms, where I curled up and glared at him, the tip of my black tail lashing in agitation. "That would be wise," he growled. "And I shall attempt to go back to sleep."

He plunked back down on the couch, and my human carried me to the room she slept in. Once she had shut the door and collapsed onto her bed, she looked wryly at me. "Now he's angry," she pointed out.

I butted her hand with my head. As she obediently began scratching behind my ears, I purred, _Don't worry; he'll get over it. He always does._ The touchy male always forgot his anger quickly when he was around my human.

My human sighed. "I guess I _have_ been teaching you bad habits," she admitted. "I shouldn't have made a joke out of it whenever you ambushed John or one of the kids. Nuada, though? D'you have a death wish, Bat? You're lucky he didn't kick you across the room and into a wall." Groaning quietly, she muttered, "I made him take off his boots so he wouldn't get my couch dirty, and you just _had_ to pounce on him!"

_Well, I wouldn't have if I'd known he was going to start like a frightened rabbit_, I meowed resentfully, and twitched my whiskers.

My human glanced down at me. I suppose I looked as disgruntled as I felt because she started to smile. A strangled sound escaped from between her lips, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to smother it. But there was no stopping the sudden spasms of laughter.

_He won't like that_, I cautioned her with a warning meow.

Judging by the panicked look she shot toward her bedroom door, she came to the same conclusion, but she couldn't stop giggling. In desperation, she seized her pillow and buried her face in it to muffle the sounds of her mirth. It didn't work.

Her door swung slowly open to reveal the tall male. "Are you _laughing?_" He demanded from the threshold, watching my human with a dangerous glitter in his eyes.

_Is it any of your business?_ I inquired, observing the two-leggers curiously. They were always so entertaining around each other.

"No!" My human wheezed between giggles. "No… yes." And she stopped trying to hold it in. Laughing loudly, tears streaming down her face, she gasped, "I'm sorry! It's just your face, and Bat looks so sad, and… you guys just..." Dissolving into giggles again and once more planting her face in her pillow, she gave up trying to explain and just kept repeating, "Sorry, sorry!"

The white male stared at my human much like I did then – half-irritated and half-bewildered. Finally, he found his tongue and commanded with some exasperation, "At least try to be quiet. I would like to sleep." My human nodded without raising her head from the pillow. Her shoulders were still shaking with laughter. Casting one last half-annoyed look at my human, the male growled, "And do not suffocate yourself with that pillow." He shut the door, but I could still hear him muttering about bizarre human humor as he returned to the couch.

Sporadic giggles were still emerging from the pillow my human was using to stifle her noise. _You look very silly right now_, I informed her with a healthy dose of feline disdain. _Get your face out of that thing and do something productive like rubbing behind my ears._ She could sleep later.

After a few more minutes of hopeless giggling, my human finally obeyed me, and her fingers began combing through my fur again. Now that was more like it. _That male is too tense_, I rumbled as I began to purr. _He's even making _me_ stressed_. But my human kept rubbing and scratching, and the anxiety slowly drained away. Little by little, I began to relax. _You really are good at this_, I praised her with an especially hearty purr. _I could actually fall asleep to this._

From down the hall, I heard the white male grumbling as he tossed and turned. Yes, he was _definitely_ too edgy.

_Maybe you should scratch behind _his_ ears_, I suggested. _He certainly needs it._


End file.
